The Girl Next Door: Baby Steps
by Soapy Water xx
Summary: The Pack, for boys age 8 only. To be in The Pack, you have to hate The Vamps, and you have to know how to have fun. The Vamps is a club made specially for the Cullens and Hales. To be in the club, you have to know how to have fun, and hate the Pack.  AH.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight. No copyright infringement is intended.**

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**Chapter 1 - Moving **

"Seth! For goodness sake! Get your bag and get in the car! Leah was ready hours ago!" Sue Clearwater yelled up the stairs, her face bright red from exertion. Beads of sweat were forming on her brow as she hoisted a packing box up into her arms, exhaling heavily as she did so.

"Sorry mommy," said a little boy, appearing at Sue's elbow. Seth Clearwater smiled cheekily as his mother glared at him - the little six year old was well aware of what his mother's fury could be like, but he was cheeky enough for it not to bother him. He smiled and - with an air of cockiness about him - disappeared down the corridor.

Sue groaned and adjusted her grip on the packing box. As she did this, Harry Clearwater, her husband, walked past, and whisked the box away from her, smirking playfully. Harry was in his mid thirties, with black hair and dark hazel eyes. He winked at his wife.

"Harry," Sue complained at once. "I can handle it," she made as if to take the box back, but Harry dodged her, still smirking.

"So can I," he added, grinning. "Seth, if you aren't in the car in five seconds, your sister will get all the sweets to herself!" he called, louder. There was the sound of scurrying feet as Seth disappeared out of the front door.

"Harry," Sue pleaded. Harry smiled, picking up a heavier box and holding onto that, too. Sue glared at her husband, but Harry was unaffected by her glower as he bent down and whispered in her ear.

"Won't you let me do this one thing for you?" he pleaded, fluttering his eyebrows as his lips grazed his wife's ear. Sue had to refrain from shuddering as everything seemed to slow down - the hustle and bustle of moving house was gone, all that remained was a slightly eerie silence.

She shook herself roughly.

"Whatever," she snorted, turning away, but not before she caught Harry's smug grin. Harry began to whistle a tuneless song and disappeared out of the front door, smirking playfully to himself as he disappeared.

Sue glowered half heartedly at Harry's back but smiled slightly to herself as she took one last look at her house. The house had belonged to her mother and grandmother before her, it was old and large. The Clearwaters had always been a wealthy family, which explained their unnaturally large house.

Sue moved into the drawing room - which wasn't quite the room that it was expected to be. Rather than being the normal definition of a drawing room, it was a room with drawings all over the walls, drawn by Seth and Leah as children. There were wolves, older men, and images of the family all drawn in black charcoal from when they grew up. To others, it would look like a terrible mess, and Sue supposed that it was a terrible mess - but it had so many memories.

Sue sighed and left the room, a single tear falling from her eye. She brushed it away impatiently.

The memories that lived in that house were strong, some incredibly old. Both of the Clearwater children had been born in that house, and leaving it behind was a hard step to take - but a necessary one. Harry had a new job that paid well, as did Sue, and a fresh start was just what the children needed.

The door was locked firmly and Sue walked towards the car in a sedate fashion, climbing in slowly and gently shutting the car door. Harry smiled at his wife, a smile playing around his lips as he winked subtly.

"Took you long enough," he commented. Sue smiled and winked in return. Harry barked out a laugh before revving the car engine and calling back to the kids.

"Forks, Washington, here we come!"

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**A.N: First chapter, let me know what paring you guys think that this story should be! I know it's short, but they should get longer. Average will probably be five pages on word, but I don't know - I haven't written it yet! Oh, and if you haven't voted yet, go across to my other story, 'Because You're Worth Fighting For' and vote for what pairing! **


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. Anything recognised belongs to Stephanie Meyer - I am playing with her characters. However, the plotline is my own creation - so no copying! **

**Chapter 2 - Forks **

"We all live in a yellow submarine, yellow submarine, yellow submarine," the Clearwater children sang from the back of the car. The family had been driving for about four hours, and they had just driven into Seattle, moving slowly towards the town of Forks.

Sue was attempting to tune out the ruckus coming from the back seat as she jammed some ear buds into her ears and turned up the volume on her iPod so that she could no longer hear her children's singing. She unwrapped the Wispa bar in her hands and nibbled on it nervously.

"Sue."

Harry's voice must have been quite loud, as Sue looked up straight away and met her husband's eyes. He gestured forwards, to a sign that made Sue beam with enthusiasm.

**Welcome to Forks **

**Home Of The Spartans **

A laugh escaped Sue as she read the sign. Leah and Seth had stopped singing now, as they looked at the sign with confusion.

"Mommy," Seth asked. Sue looked around to see Seth pulling off 'the puppy dog pout' perfectly as he opened his hazel eyes wide. "What's a Spartan?"

Sue laughed. "Never you mind Seth. Now please, let your poor old mom get a little bit of sleep before we arrive."

Seth laughed. "Sure mommy."

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Twenty minutes later, the Clearwater family pulled up in front of their new house. Harry smiled to himself as he realised Sue was still soundly asleep in the passenger seat.

"Are we here daddy?"

"Can we get out now?"

Harry smiled at his children's antics.

"Yes, you can get out now," he told them. "Go and explore guys - just the house, mind. You can explore the neighbourhood once we're all settled in and we've had lunch, okay?"

"Okay daddy," chorused Leah and Seth, before they bolted from the backseat and disappeared into the already furnished house. Harry smiled to himself before picking up Sue gently, holding her to him as he carefully climbed out of the car and disappeared into the house.

He examined the house once again as he carried Sue up the grand staircase, moving past the new music room and into the master bedroom. The bed was already set up, a very grand piece in the centre of the room. He gently placed Sue down on the bed and smiled once more, closing the door firmly as he left the room.

"Daddy!" Leah ran towards her father and buried her face in his chest. Harry smiled broadly and gently hugged his daughter in response, ruffling her dark hair slightly as he did so.

"What's brought this on Lee-Lee?" Harry demanded, holding her a little way away from him so that he could examine her. A streak of mud went across Leah's face - Harry privately looked down and noticed that the mud was now covering the front of his white shirt - but she appeared to be unscathed.

"I fell over," Leah admitted, abashed. She pulled up the legs of her black joggers to show her father her grazed knees. Harry was a little stunned at the large, bleeding grazes that were present on Leah's knees. He picked her up and carried her towards the bathroom.

"I'm going to wash them, okay?" he asked, sitting Leah on the side of the bathtub. He didn't wait for a response, wringing out a flannel over the wounds, letting the cold water trickle over Leah's knees. Leah flinched, but didn't cry. She was a brave girl, even at a young age.

Ten minutes later, the wounds were cleaned, but still looked to be red raw and incredibly saw. Leah smiled at her father and hopped down from the edge of the bathtub, disappearing, her yell of 'thank you!' lingering behind her.

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Leah and Seth ran eagerly across the front lawn, which was freshly mown but covered in daisies. They knew that their mother was still sleeping, and were impatient for her to wake up, as they wanted to explore the neighbourhood. When their shouting had finally gotten too loud, Harry had sent them outside, telling them to go and meet the neighbours - and calm down a little.

"Booga!" Seth yelled, diving towards his sister and knocking her to the ground. Leah winced hard, tears starting to her eyes in an automatic reaction to pain as her grazed knees burned. She stood up and blinked hard, dispelling the salty tears.

"Seth!" Leah pouted, and pulled up the knees of her joggers to reveal her grazes. Seth let out a little gasp before he could stop it, and had the decency to look abashed at his sister's wounds.

"Sorry Lee-Lee," Seth murmured. "I didn't mean to hurt you. Please forgive me."

"It's okay Seth," Leah beamed. "Come on! I want to see the neighbours!"

She shot upright and bolted to the edge of the garden with the speed of a cheetah, the cool air stinging her cheeks as she ran. Leah was suddenly very struck by the weather difference - it had been warm every day in their previous home.

Behind her, Seth laughed tauntingly and sprang into action, trying to catch up with his sister. Seth always found the fact that his sister was faster than him to be embarrassing, but realistically, Leah was an incredibly fast runner.

"Booga!" Seth yelled, his voice cracking embarrassingly. Leah, in front, giggled, finally dashing through the front gate, slowing to a walk on the path. Seth mimicked her actions, eyes sparkling as he caught his breath.

"Here first?" Leah asked as she looked up at the large house next door. She opened the white picket gate shyly and the siblings wandered up the path, looking around nervously.

When they reached the front door, Leah had to lift Seth up to reach the doorbell. The chime reverberated through the door, and Leah cringed slightly, putting her hands to her ears. The door opened to reveal an elderly man with a bald head and narrowed eyes. He wore a black cloak draped around himself and he was the perfect definition of 'creepy.'

"Hello," Leah said quietly, nervous. She angled her body so that Seth was slightly behind her as she spoke. "My name is Leah, this is my brother Seth. We're new in the neighbourhood and we just came to say hi."

"Hello children. Will you come in?" the man replied. "My name is Marcus."

"No thank you," Leah replied, incredibly nervous. "We need to see the other neighbours before it gets dark. Nice to meet you, Marcus," Leah slowly edged away from the door as she spoke, Seth a step ahead of her.

"Oh but children, there's more than enough time! Please, do come in?"

"I'm sorry! We have to go!" Leah yelled, and the two bolted.

Marcus sighed heavily, his eyes tired with the weight of the world. His dead wife loved children - they both did. Evenings were spent with children, playing movies for them on their large TV, reading them stories and teaching them new things. He turned away from the door and closed it slowly, tears clouding his vision.

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At the next house, stood Leah and Seth. They were still breathless from their encounter with the man next door, and chose not to speak of it again. Leah knocked on the large white door with the brass knocker and waited patiently.

"Carlisle! Can you get the door please?" They heard a feminine voice yell.

There was no reply to be heard, and the door swung open suddenly, revealing a man with bright blonde hair and an enthusiastic expression. He smiled down broadly at Leah and Seth, and the two children were comforted by the relaxed expression on his face.

"Hi kids," the man - presumably named Carlisle - said. "I'm Carlisle, and I assume that you are the new neighbours?"

"We are!" Seth said with enthusiasm.

"I'm Leah," she cut in. "And this is Seth," she gestured to her brother. Seth beamed eagerly in response.

"Why don't you kids come inside and meet the family? I assume you've already met Mr. Smith next door?"

"We have," Leah replied, as Seth shuddered. Carlisle's eyes lit up with amusement and Seth beamed.

"I think we've got time, thank you," Leah smiled.

Carlisle's smile didn't falter.

"It's my pleasure," he said, moving out of the way so that the Clearwater children could enter.

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**A.N: IMPORTANT! **

**I'm putting up a poll on my profile page, I would really appreciate votes - it's about the pairing for this story. I know, I'm sorry for messing you around about this, but I can't count all of the votes easily. If you would vote, I'd really, really appreciate it! **

**Now, I'm about to try and update IWMUH. I apologise for late updates - I went to a theme park yesterday and had a BLAST! Anyway, there we go. Happy update to you all! **


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